Archive

California has long been a leader in ensuring social safety net programs for poor families but the Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule is hurting our reputation. The MFG rule says that if a parent or guardian has been receiving aid from CalWORKS for ten months consecutively, any child conceived within that timeframe is blocked for life from receiving the same assistance granted to their siblings. Read More

A series of reports issued by national experts on jail conditions expose in the most graphic detail to date the Monterey County Jail as a place riddled with violence where prisoners are at serious risk of grave injury, where jail officials fail to provide prisoners with adequate medical and mental health care and where prisoners with disabilities are denied access to jail services, programs and ac... Read More

Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action is widely misunderstood as being a case about affirmative action. It is not. In fact, it leaves in place Supreme Court law recognizing diversity as a compelling governmental interest and permitting carefully constructed affirmative action programs. Today's decision has no effect on states that want to adopt or maintain affirmative action plans. Read More

Today the ACLU filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of immigrants fleeing persecution who have faced months of detention while they await reasonable fear determinations, the first step in seeking protection in the U.S. when someone is forced to return following a deportation order. Read More

A class action settlement ending the blanket policy of shackling adult detainees in immigration court, regardless of their history or capacity for disruption. Read More

At the ACLU, we frequently see historic civil liberties battles recurring in new guises. The cases on contraceptive coverage in employee health plans argued before the Supreme Court last week present a familiar scenario: in times of rapid social progress, those resisting equality claim a religious right to discriminate. Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California announced plans to file a federal class-action lawsuit against the City of Berkeley for its ban on roosters within city limits. The ACLU pointed to a series of constitutional concerns that threaten us all.“The ACLU has always stood up for those who are voiceless, or in this case, too loud,” said Abdi Soltani, ACLU-NC Executive Director and Berkeley resident, w... Read More

Download the Spring 2014 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

It is no secret: California continues to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money locking up far too many people for far too long who don’t need to be behind bars to keep the public safe. Read More

In a victory for voting rights, the state of California has agreed to mail voter registration cards to nearly 4 million Californians who have signed up for health insurance through the state health exchange, Covered California, and to ensure that Californians who apply for health benefits through the exchange going forward are provided voter registration opportunities. The action is the result of ... Read More